Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Au Revoir Suisse

If someone had told me that by the time I was 24 I would be a single, unemployed, college graduate who still doesn’t quite know what she wants to do with her life and lives with her parents I would probably be pretty nervous about my future. However, if you had told me that by the time I was 24 I would have met friends from literally all around the world, gone to 12 different countries, and lived in Switzerland for a year I would have more unbelief than the first prediction.

Sure, moving to Europe has put off growth in certain aspects of my life, but I’m pretty sure that it has inspired growth in other possibly more important areas of my life. I've grown in my ability to communicate with people, have travel skills that may have taken years to learn, and confidence in myself and my talents in many aspects of my life. This year has truly been priceless and I still sit in disbelief that it's already over. I feel like I have learned more in this year than any other year of my life and have more memories from it than the past 4 combined. I've made great lifelong friends and truly gotten to know another culture. If someone were to ask me if I'd do it again I would say absolutely with such certainty they themselves would sign up on an aupair website the next day!

I'm so glad to have this experience in my life and it has truly shaped who I am now. So, instead of getting depressed and overly upset about having to leave I am going to try to look to the positive because life is long and sweet. So in my optimistic mood here are some quotes to leave you with.

“You never really leave a place or person you love, part of them you take with you ,leaving a part of yourself behind.”

“Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.” - Dr. Seuss

“Missing someone gets easier everyday. Because, even though it is one day further from the last time you saw each other, it is one day closer to the next time you will”

“You and I will meet again, When we're least expecting it, One day in some far off place, I will recognize your face, I won't say goodbye my friend, For you and I will meet again” - Tom Petty

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. ~Carol Sobieski and Thomas Meehan, Annie